No. 1 Nebraska volleyball served Florida A&M off the court to open the NCAA Tournament in impressive fashion, surrendering a Rally Era program record 29 points in a single sweep.
The Huskers swept the Rattlers 25-3, 25-9, 25-17 at the Devaney Center in just 65 minutes Friday, securing coach John Cook’s revenge for Nebraska’s loss to Florida A&M in 2004, the only previous meeting between the two teams.
“These guys now understand what to do,” Cook said. “Every point from now on is a national championship point. They were very focused this evening. They were at school today, it’s a Friday, there’s a lot going on, there was another game before us, and just staying focused and executing like that was very rewarding. We will have to do this for five more matches.
The dominance began at the service line, where Nebraska kept Florida A&M struggling for most of the night. The Huskers recorded six aces with just three errors and held the Rattlers to minus-0.043.
“They’re running people all over the place in that 6-2, so if they don’t pass, it’s really tough, and they couldn’t get the ball to (Jada Rhodes) very fast all night… I thought our serve was really great,” Cook said. “Liv, we’re going to have to ice her shoulder tonight. She served so many.
Freshman Olivia Mauch served the ball 24 times, leading runs of 10-0, 6-0 and 5-0. She had four of Nebraska’s six aces. Cook has teased Mauch about his “wimpy serve” in the past, calling him out at the Bennington JV level, but he was one of Nebraska’s biggest weapons on Friday, and Cook said the rotation two with the Freshman service was the team’s best scoring unit. this season.
“It’s falling,” Harper Murray said of Mauch’s serve. “I think she worked a lot on her hand contact with Jordan (Larson). I serve alongside Liv in training and I always hear Jordan give her feedback, and she is very coachable. It has improved a lot, but it is also very difficult to pass. I know many of us don’t like to miss out.
The in-state product added five digs and six errorless serve receptions in his NCAA Tournament debut.
“It’s definitely surreal,” Mauch said. “Just being able to wear the Nebraska jersey in the first place is so special, and then to get this far puts the icing on the cake. I’m just doing it for the seniors, I think, because they were cut last year, and (the other returners) too, but I’m just trying to finish strong.
Nebraska also performed well on offense, hitting .391 while scoring 27 more kills and 11 fewer errors than the Rattlers. Bergen Reilly had a double-double with 32 assists, 12 digs and two kills in three attempts. Murray led the attack with 12 kills on .440 hitting while Andi Jackson added eight kills on .538 hitting.
Cook deployed his usual starting lineup, but Leyla Blackwell (five kills) played the final two sets for Rebekah Allick (three kills on three swings in the first) and Lindsay Krause (four kills) played the third set for Taylor Landfair (four decisive attacks). on eight swings). Merritt Beason accounted for the other two aces and five kills.
“I want to keep our team free,” Cook said. “I want them to be relaxed, have fun and enjoy it, because it can be overwhelming. It feels good to win, no matter who you play against. It’s the tournament, so there’s a lot to play for, but it’s really important that we continue to have fun and take advantage of the opportunities to play here, especially at Devaney, and our crowd was great tonight.
Nebraska dashed any hopes of a potential upset in the first set with the most lopsided victory in program history. The Huskers used a 10-0 run with Olivia Mauch serving to take a 12-1 lead before Florida A&M’s first kill. The Huskers then closed out the set with a 12-0 run featuring Beason on the service line.
Nebraska hit .500 behind six kills from Murray and held A&M to minus-.172 and just two kills. The Huskers recorded 20 digs, two blocks and two aces to hold A&M to three points, the fewest Nebraska has allowed in a set during the rally scoring era.
“The last time I did it was probably at club level, but I think it says a lot about our focus in the first set,” Murray said of the 22-point victory. “We didn’t make many mistakes and we did what we could to keep them with weak points. But I just think it speaks volumes about our focus tonight.
The second set was barely more competitive. Nebraska used an 11-1 run, including eight in a row, with Murray serving to build a 16-4 lead, then Mauch closed the match with a 6-0 run that included back-to-back aces on the final two points .
Nebraska hit .333 and held Florida A&M to minus-.130 with three kills.
The third set saw five ties and five lead changes as the Rattlers took their first lead of the evening, but Nebraska used a 5-0 run with Mauch serving to get back in front for good at 9-5. A&M stayed close for a while before the Huskers created more space with a 5-1 run that included two kills and an assist from Beason.
The Huskers traded sides a bit before Krause closed the match with kills on the final two points.
Nebraska hit .344 in the final set while Florida A&M ultimately finished positive at .100 with 11 kills.
Nebraska volleyball will return to the Devaney Center on Saturday to face #8 Miami in the second round. The Hurricanes swept South Dakota State 25-17, 25-23, 25-15 in the first round.
Flormarie Heredia Colon led the way with 21 kills with .292 hits and 13 digs while Grace Lopez added 12 kills with .258 hits and 10 digs. Both pins have recorded more kills than all the Jackrabbits combined and slowing them down will be key for the Huskers on Saturday.
“They are international players,” Cook said. “They have good arms, they hit a lot of different shots, there were three jump servers today. They have major league weapons and (Heredia Colon) was hitting some balls today in the back row, just hitting them. So this is going to be a great match. I think they’re going to be really fun to play. Their left opposite does a very good job. This team beat Stanford and Texas, so it will be a big challenge for us.
First serve is set for 7 p.m. CT on ESPN+.
